Help Teacher Fight for Job and Life
Update: we have been receiving many requests for the donation option to be open again, so we are going to oblige and continue to accept donations! Any funds that go above the original goal of $5,000 will go directly to the non-profit Cancer Support Community Arizona, and any funds that remain of the original goal that do not go to legal fees and co-pays from when Tarah was not being paid will also be going to this amazing non-profit organization. Thank you so much for your continued support!
Tarah Ausburn, a teacher recently diagnosed with an aggressive form of breast cancer, is fighting for her life, and to keep the job that she loves dearly. She has recently lost her job due to beaurocratic loopholes, and needs your help in fighting this discrimination in court.
Here is her news story covered by AZ Central:
http://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/phoenix/2016/08/10/adobe-mountain-school-phoenix-fires-teacher-amidst-breast-cancer-fight/88491312/
Right now, the most important thing you can do for Tarah is contact Governor Ducey and express your anger/sadness/frustration with the way the state has been treating their employees. Please visit:
http://azgovernor.gov/governor/form/contact-governor-ducey
In November of 2015, Tarah Ausburn- a teacher at an Arizona juvenile corrections school- was checked into a hospital for a double mastectomy after a very shocking and unexpected diagnosis of stage 3C breast cancer. After a month of recovering, she began the grueling year-long treatment plan of chemotherapy, radiation, and reconstructive surgery. The 35-year old English teacher settled in for the long haul, hoping to fall into a routine with a few new doctor's appointments to attend. After 3 months of being on Family Medical Leave (FMLA), she was eager to get back to what she loves most- teaching at risk youth. Her body, however, was not ready to jump back in full-time. While going through chemotherapy and radiation Tarah submitted numerous Americans with Disabilities (ADA) requests for adjusted work hours, working from home for non-teaching duties, and special accomodations for dress code while she dealt with hair loss, nerve damage, and hot flashes brought on by chemotherapy. Most of her requests have been denied by her employer. Here are just a few examples of how Tarah Ausburn has been specifically targeted by her administrators as a result of her cancer diagnosis and treatment:
-Denied adjusted work hours to accomodate side-effects and appointments for chemotherapy and radiation. Meanwhile, other teachers are allowed adjusted work hours for things such as: hair appointments, dentist appointments, an adult child getting in a fender bender, and long lunches for socializing.
-An alternative work duty comprised by her and a sympathetic administrator that would allow her to work part-time and not use all of her FMLA was denied; she was required to come back to work full-time during chemotherapy with a full load of classes, or not come back at all.
-Tarah offered to work through her lunch hour in order to leave early for radiation treatment; she was denied this option.
-She has received several dress-code directives while trying to raise awareness of breast cancer and deal with the side effects of chemo:
1) banned from wearing a pink wig given to her by a Breast Cancer support group despite a nurse having purple hair and another teacher having pink highlights in her hair.
2) limitations on head scarves despite other teachers wearing patterned, brightly colored scarves around their necks or waists.
3) specific limitations on hats, even though she does not wear hats and other teachers are allowed to wear patterned hats, cowboy hats, and fedoras.
-After contracting a staph infection at work, Tarah was required to have hospitilization and a number of surgeries to clean out the infection. She filed a workman's comp complaint, which has been ignored. She also filed a request for Leave Without Pay with her job, which was denied on the day that it was supposed to go into effect. Her job fired her for not showing up on the day they informed her that her request was denied.
Tarah Ausburn lost her job on August 8, 2016 after dedicating 4 1/2 years to Arizona Department of Juvenile Corrections. Tarah absolutely loved her job. In the words of a close friend who has known her and her work for over a decade: "Tarah is the teacher that people go to school hoping to become. She's focused her entire career on the population of students that may be the most difficult group to reach. From inner city, more recently within a juvenile corrections facility, she's found a way to reach and teach children dealing with the unfathomable, helping them grow, learn, and thrive beyond anyone's expectations. She's regularly a favorite among her students, winning awards among her peers. And yesterday, she was fired from the job that she loves so dearly because she has cancer."
Along with losing her job, she is losing the medical insurance that she NEEDS to fight this cancer battle and live. With her FMLA gone because her work did not authorize a part-time work schedule, several days missed because she was required to take full days off for afternoon radiation appointments, and several dress-code violation write-ups that were not enforced on any other teachers, her administrators have built up a case to let her go, despite their ability to accomodate her and keep a competent, caring, and dedicated teacher in their school for years to come. You can help Tarah by donating funds that will go towards her legal fees as she fights a discrimination case in order to get her job back, keep her cancer treatment, and her life. By donating, you are not only helping Tarah Ausburn, you are helping at-risk youth in Arizona who benefit from having a teacher who cares more about their education than most people, including her administrators.
